activa-t Chapter 81 That Matter
Chapter 81 That Matter
Kangxi leaned back on the dragon throne, stretched his wrists, and then sat up straight.
His gaze shifted from the kneeling crowd.
"Alright, that concludes the matter of debt collection." His tone suddenly softened. "Now, I'd like to commend someone by name."
Yin'e's gaze swept around the hall.
His mind raced. Whom was Kangxi going to praise? The Eighth Prince? The Fourteenth Prince? Or some important minister in the court?
"Yin'e".
When these two words came out of Kangxi's mouth, Yin'e's first reaction was not joy, but stunned.
His mind went blank for a moment, as if someone had struck a gong in his ear.
He thought he had misheard and secretly glanced at Lao Ba. Lao Ba was turning around to look at him with an expression that said, "What are you standing there for?"
Yin'e quickly stepped out of the queue, trying to keep his steps steady.
He walked to the center, lifted the hem of his robe, knelt down, and touched the ground with his forehead.
"Your subject is here."
Kangxi's voice came from above, carrying an unusual gentleness, like a father praising his child.
"Yin'e is loyal, righteous, chivalrous, and able to distinguish right from wrong. If all my sons were like Yin'e, I would really have less to worry about."
The hall fell silent for a moment.
Then, countless gazes shot in from all directions and landed on Yin'e.
Those gazes contained surprise, curiosity, scrutiny, and even jealousy.
Although Emperor Kangxi did not explicitly state why he praised Yin'e, everyone present knew the reason.
It was because he stepped forward at Wei Dongting's funeral, generously shouldering the Wei family's debt of 300,000 taels of silver.
This matter has already spread throughout the imperial court.
Some say he was impulsive, some say he was putting on a show, and some laugh at him for trying to save face.
But at this moment, when Kangxi personally uttered the eight words "loyal and righteous, chivalrous and courageous," he was telling everyone that this was not an impulsive act or a show, but a quality that he recognized.
Something seemed to be churning within Yin'e's heart.
He knew that Emperor Kangxi's praise of him was not entirely sincere.
Kangxi was using him to slap the fourth prince in the face.
Look, you messed up the task, but your younger brother did it better than you; Kangxi was also using him to keep the Eighth Prince in check.
Look, even your younger brother can do this well, what about you? But he also knew that half of Kangxi's praise for him was genuine.
As a father, I always feel gratified to see my son step up at a crucial moment, not let me down, and not bring shame to the royal family.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions, and then spoke.
"Your subject will always keep in mind Father Emperor's teachings: 'A subject should be loyal, a son should be filial, an elder brother should be friendly, and a younger brother should be respectful.'"
Everything I have done is because of my father’s daily teachings, which have taught me what is right and wrong, what I should do and what I should not do.
Your son is unworthy and dares not claim to have done a great job; he has only done what he was supposed to do.
These words were spoken in a very measured and watertight manner.
They attributed all the credit to Emperor Kangxi.
"It's all because of Father Emperor's teachings," he said, flattering without seeming forced; humble without appearing hypocritical.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Kangxi's lips curled up slightly, revealing a rare smile.
"Award Prince Yin'e double his salary."
The double salary wasn't much, but the "double salary" was a sign of divine favor.
Not everyone can get it.
Yin'e slammed his forehead heavily against the gold brick, his voice booming, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your boundless grace!"
He stood up and returned to the queue.
His heart was pounding, but his face remained expressionless.
He glanced at the Eighth Prince, who was smiling at him. The smile contained congratulations and satisfaction, but what Yin'e saw deep in the eyes was a trace of apprehension.
Kangxi withdrew his gaze from Yin'e and scanned everyone present again.
"Don't think you've gotten away with this debt. It's impossible." His tone suddenly hardened. "Yinzhen (the Fourth Prince)!"
Yinzhen (the Fourth Prince) quickly stepped forward and knelt down.
"I order you to draft a repayment plan for the national treasury deficit, submit it to the Ministry of Revenue for review, and then submit it to me."
Extend the repayment period and appropriately increase the interest. If anyone still fails to repay this time, don't blame me for being ruthless.
"Your subject obeys the decree!" Yinzhen (the Fourth Prince)'s voice was loud and clear as he kowtowed, his forehead touching the ground.
Emperor Kangxi waved his hand, and Yinzhen (the Fourth Prince) stood up and returned to the queue.
Emperor Kangxi leaned back on his dragon throne, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.
His gaze swept across everyone's faces, and the air in the hall fell silent again as everyone waited for his next words.
"Alright, that's the first thing." He put down his teacup, making a soft sound.
"Let's talk about the big event that happened in the capital a few days ago."
The atmosphere inside the hall suddenly changed.
Yin'e's heart suddenly raced.
Juxianju.
Kangxi was referring to Juxianju.
finally reached!
"Zhang Tingyu".
Kangxi's voice was not loud, but his tone carried an unspoken trust.
"Your subject is here."
A voice rang out from the front of the civil officials' procession.
Zhang Tingyu is around forty years old this year, of medium build, neither fat nor thin.
His face was square and dignified, with a broad forehead, high brow bones, and small but very bright eyes.
Zhang Tingyu walked to the center of the main hall, lifted the corner of his robe, knelt down, bowed, and then waited for Kangxi's instructions.
"Some of you ministers may not be aware of what happened in the capital a few days ago. Hengchen (Zhang Tingyu's courtesy name), please tell everyone what exactly happened."
"Your subject obeys the decree." Zhang Tingyu bowed, turned around, faced the assembled civil and military officials, and spoke.
On the night of July 16th, 46th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, a fire broke out at the Juxianju Teahouse on Qianmen Street.
The fire started in the tent room on the third floor and quickly spread to the entire building.
Tu Sihai, the captain of the Plain White Banner under the Nine Gates Commander, led his night patrol soldiers to discover the fire in time, organizing firefighting efforts while simultaneously controlling the scene.
The fire was extinguished at 3:45 AM, destroying the entire third floor and most of the second floor. Fortunately, no one died, and only a few people sustained minor injuries.
During the firefighting operation, Tu Sihai discovered several gambling paraphernalia, a loan receipt with usurious interest, and a large amount of gambling funds on the third floor of Juxianju.
Dozens of people involved in gambling were arrested on the spot, including…” He paused, his gaze sweeping across the court, “including Xiao Guoxing, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.”
A low murmur arose in the court.
Yin'e stood motionless in the queue. His gaze did not fall on Zhang Tingyu, but instead shifted slightly towards the direction of the imperial steps.
Crown Prince Yinreng stood on the imperial steps.
The entire face was obscured by shadows, making it impossible to see the expression.
Zhang Tingyu continued, "After Xiao Guoxing was taken to the Ministry of Justice, he claimed that he had gone to Juxianju to meet friends that night and knew nothing about the gambling den."
However, according to the accounts seized at the scene, Xiao Guoxing's spending records at Juxianju could be traced back to the 44th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, with a total amount involved in gambling being enormous.
"In addition, Gao Mengyuan, the actual operator of Juxianju, was also arrested at the scene that night."
Gao Mengyuan was born into the Plain Yellow Banner as a bondservant. He worked in the Imperial Household Department and later went into business.
Investigations revealed that Juxianju, ostensibly a teahouse, was actually involved in illegal activities such as gambling and usury.
The promissory notes seized at the scene involved more than one million taels of silver, and the borrowers included officials, merchants, and members of the imperial family, spanning both inside and outside the capital.
"Gao Mengyuan is currently imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice prison. He has initially confessed to some of his crimes, but he has not yet explained whether someone was behind him or the source of the gambling funds."
Zhang Tingyu paused here.
He didn't say who was behind it all, but everyone present had their own opinion.
Gao Mengyuan's background is no secret.
Zhang Tingyu stepped back, knelt down again to pay his respects, then stood up and returned to the ranks of the civil officials.
The hall was quiet for a moment.
Kangxi did not speak.
He simply leaned back on the dragon throne, his gaze lowered, looking at his son in the apricot-yellow dragon robe on the imperial steps.
"Yinreng," he called the crown prince's name.
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